The Fugitive Doctor’s huge TARDIS plot hole still bothers me 4 years later (can Doctor Who still fix it?)

Joe Martin Doctor Who character completely shattered what I thought I understood about the Doctor’s timeline, but the confusing Timeless Child twist aside, her TARDIS created another problem with franchise canon. Because Doctor Who has been going on for so long, I fully understand why it would certainly be inconsistent with the universe’s knowledge. With so many writers contributing to the vast world-building, some things will slip through the cracks. However, some information, in my opinion, needs to remain concrete, and Chris Chibnall was way too much With some of the greatest Doctor Who Stories of all time.

When the Fugitive Doctor made her debut back in 2020, I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking she was a future version of the famous Time Lord. She wasn’t one of the many actors who had already played the Doctor, so logic would dictate that she was from a later point in the character’s timeline. The discovery of her pre-dating William Hartnell’s First Doctor was interestingBut it ultimately made very little sense in more ways than one. I immediately realized that one of the plot holes was opening up around the Fugitive Doctor’s blue box, and it still wasn’t addressed.

The fugitive Doctor’s TARDIS looking like a police box doesn’t make any sense

Jo Martin’s Doctor has a TARDIS that predates Hartnell’s Broken Chameleon circuit

On several occasions, various iterations of the Doctor have explained to their perplexed companions why his time and space machine looks like a 1950s police box from the outside. The monologue usually comes just after the signature exclamation of, “It’s bigger inside!“In short, still Hartnell’s first doctor landed in 1950s LondonThe TARDIS’ chameleon circuit allowed the ship to merge like a police box, but the circuit broke immediately after and left the TARDIS appearance stuck. The Fugitive Doctor’s TARDIS is also a police box, but as it predates Hartnell’s Doctor, this should not be the case.

When not in disguise, TARDISes have been shown to resemble what are essentially gray cylinders. Ruth’s TARDIS has good reason to be in a different shape than its default, so I don’t expect it to look like this when it lands in Doctor Who Season 12, Episode 5, “Fugitive from the Judoon.” What irritated me is that The TARDIS should still be able to merge at this pointAnd a police box does not come close to her. The chameleon circle is presumably still working, so it should have been able to put on an appropriate disguise.

Why the fugitive Doctor’s TARDIS was not properly disguised

The TARDIS needed to be recognizable for the landing scene to work

Unfortunately, almost half a decade later, I’m frustrated that this TARDIS plot hole didn’t get an in-universe explanation. Several theories could, in a stretch, explain it away, but none of them really pull me in as entirely convincing. Instead, it’s pretty clear to me that the creative choice was made—if it was even an intentional decision—because it helped move the story along. That’s nice sometimes, but not always with a show like that Doctor WhoAnd certainly not for an aspect of the canon that is long in place.

While I didn’t really care for the Fugitive Doctor storyline or the Timeless Child reveal that followed it, the surprise appearance of a second TARDIS was still pretty exciting. I didn’t really think about it at the time, but if the TARDIS had looked like anything other than the police box, I probably wouldn’t have known what it was, and the moment would have been lost. For example, if an ice cream truck were honored, it would be a completely different and much more confusing scene.

Can RTD’s doctor fix the fugitive Doctor’s TARDIS plot hole?

Doctor Who’s Disney era has already touched on the Timeless Child storyline

Russell T Davies returned as showrunner to relieve Chris Chibnall ahead of Doctor Whos Disney era. When doing so, Davies made it clear that he would not recommend the divisive Timeless Child plot That his predecessor introduced. Interestingly, he was only partially true to his word. The toymaker being responsible for the Doctor’s broken history was a cool way to keep the twist alive while also implying that it once wasn’t canon. Since then, apart from the occasional mention of the doctor’s revelation of a forgotten past, Davies has not been too interested in revisiting the story.

Although The fugitive Doctor could technically return at almost any momentI would be surprised at this point if Davies included her in his plans. The future of the show is arguably more important than the recent history at this point, and with many viewers losing enthusiasm – including me – during the Chibnall era, it would be a little disappointing to turn away so quickly from the excitement of Ncuti Gatwa Stepping in to lead Doctor Who.